It is often argued that Germany and Scandinavia stand at two opposite ends of a spectrum with regard to their response to social-economic disruptions and cultural challenges. Though, in many respects, they have a shared cultural inheritance, it is nevertheless the case that they mobilize different mythologies and different modes of coping when faced with breakdown and disorder. The authors argue that it is at these "critical junctures," points of crisis and innovation in the life of communities, that the tradition and identity of national and local communities are formed, polarized, and revalued; it is here that social change takes a particular direction.

"... the book deserves credit ... for trying to tackle the tricky issue of crisis as an historical theme, and in doing so offers a novel approach for rethinking the critical 1930s."  ·  H-German

Nina Witoszek is Professor of Cultural History at Oslo University.